


Three Parts- Epilouge

by JoAsakura



Series: a tale in three parts (with an epilogue) [4]
Category: Mass Effect
Genre: Fluff, M/M, Schmoop
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2012-03-26
Updated: 2012-03-26
Packaged: 2017-11-02 13:35:02
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 951
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/369525
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/JoAsakura/pseuds/JoAsakura
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
      <p>it wasn't quite a dream, but I wasn't feeling real good last night and went to bed early. And while I lay there, my semi-awake brain filled in post-Rhapsody stuffs. Warning. It's dumb and schmoopy (and utterly optional to the story)</p><p>1) Shep's eyes were destroyed by his stint in hard vacuum. The geth provide him with rebuilt eyes that take some..getting used to.</p><p>2)Promoted to Rear Admiral, Shepard retires goes on sabbatical while Kaidan and Steve remain on semi-active duty. The Normandy SR-3 is being outfitted as a diplomatic vessel as the science teams who were part of the crucible project study the mass relays to get them operational again.</p><p>3) during the battle for earth, Joker and the Normandy crew were running rescue missions, helping damaged ships get to safety for repairs. While sweeping the citadel for Shepard's life signs, they discovered that there were pockets of survivors aboard. Among them, one of the embassy day care centres for staff children and infants. It's not much, but a few hundred people overall are saved.</p><p>4) shepard finds himself spending a lot of time with the children during his physical rehab. And ends up sort of taking over Kaidan's parent's farm with a bunch of little ones who have no where to go.</p><p>5) the quantum entangled communicators are still mostly up and running, so shepard finds himself on a lot of late night conference calls, somehow still involved in things, even though he's living on farm with a bunch of kids hanging off of him while he tries and gets various ambassadors and leaders to stop calling each other names. (they're worse than the children)</p><p>6) One of the children is a little Turian fledgling named Adrien, after the Primarch. Another is a little human girl named Amira. And this is all lead up to this:</p>
    </blockquote>





	Three Parts- Epilouge

**Author's Note:**

> it wasn't quite a dream, but I wasn't feeling real good last night and went to bed early. And while I lay there, my semi-awake brain filled in post-Rhapsody stuffs. Warning. It's dumb and schmoopy (and utterly optional to the story)
> 
> 1) Shep's eyes were destroyed by his stint in hard vacuum. The geth provide him with rebuilt eyes that take some..getting used to.
> 
> 2)Promoted to Rear Admiral, Shepard retires goes on sabbatical while Kaidan and Steve remain on semi-active duty. The Normandy SR-3 is being outfitted as a diplomatic vessel as the science teams who were part of the crucible project study the mass relays to get them operational again.
> 
> 3) during the battle for earth, Joker and the Normandy crew were running rescue missions, helping damaged ships get to safety for repairs. While sweeping the citadel for Shepard's life signs, they discovered that there were pockets of survivors aboard. Among them, one of the embassy day care centres for staff children and infants. It's not much, but a few hundred people overall are saved.
> 
> 4) shepard finds himself spending a lot of time with the children during his physical rehab. And ends up sort of taking over Kaidan's parent's farm with a bunch of little ones who have no where to go.
> 
> 5) the quantum entangled communicators are still mostly up and running, so shepard finds himself on a lot of late night conference calls, somehow still involved in things, even though he's living on farm with a bunch of kids hanging off of him while he tries and gets various ambassadors and leaders to stop calling each other names. (they're worse than the children)
> 
> 6) One of the children is a little Turian fledgling named Adrien, after the Primarch. Another is a little human girl named Amira. And this is all lead up to this:

"Shepard! Shepard!" Amira was pulling at his sleeve, dark eyes huge and worried. Shepard blinked and rubbed his eyes out of habit. The artificial ones the geth had made him didn't ache or get tired like organic ones did, but the habit was long-ingrained.

The HUD in the corner of his vision showed him local standard time 3:14 AM, and shepard pushed himself away from the desk, wiping away a thin strand of drool. He had nodded off after several hours of arbitrating some disagreement between the salarian science team and the krogan colony on Venus.

The Sol system was fairly large, as star systems went, but finding homes for thousands of displaced fleets, stranded there when the relays went dark was proving to be a full-time job.

"SHEPARD." Amira said insistently, and climbed into his lap and slapped her tiny hands on either side of his face. She was an adorable brown ball of energy who had recently declared her intention to command the Normandy and that her brothers and sisters would all be her crew because she was the oldest.

The children had all taken to calling him "Shep" when he'd first met them. The youngest even "Shepshep" while Kaidan and Steve had both become variations on "Daddy" and "Papi". For Amira to call him Shepard was a sign that something was wrong and he was fully awake at that thought.

"Amira. What's wrong?" He said in a low rasp. His voicebox had never been right either, after his unprotected dance in hard vacuum. but he'd never cared about that. When he'd first woken up, the doctors had told him how amazed they'd been at Cerberus' bioengineers, and Kaidan had whispered a special thanks to Miranda for being the best ever at rebuilding a dead man.

"Adrien is sick." She said talking quickly, sliding off his lap. "I mean really sick. It was just a little piece and we thought it wouldn't do much except make him barf and and and.."

Shepard followed her out of the office, then scooped her up. "A little piece of what, Amira?"

"Chocolate. Human chocolate, not the dextro-choc that uncle Garrus brings." Amira said, looking shamefaced.

Shepard gently set her down and found Adrien, the little turian curled in a shivering ball on the couch. Frowning, he grabbed down the medi-kit. Not some home variety use, but one that Karin Chakwas had prepared. As a result, it could have managed a field hospital for an entire platoon.

He found the little injectors of what amounted to the turian equivalent of epinephrine, and gently stroked the child's little crest. "This is going to bite for a second." he said, then gathered the boy in his arms as the medicine took effect.

Amira climbed on the couch next to them and they sat until Adrien's breathing eased and the shivering passed. "You guys want to tell me what happened?" He asked.

"Everyone was saying I have to go live with uncle Garrus from now on." Adrien said. The little turian had burrowed himself against Shepard's side, and his voice was muffled underneath a layer of flannel.

"When we grow up, Adrien is gonna marry me and be my XO on the Normandy." Amira added, burrowed on Shepard's other side.

"I see." Shepard said, although at first he didn't. Then the penny dropped. "You took the chocolate so you'd get sick and wouldn't have to go with Uncle Garrus today?"

He felt the nod and stroked the child's crest again. It hadn't hardened yet, and it had a soft, almost velvety feel. "Adrien. Uncle Garrus just wants to teach you about your people. I'm not going to give your room away." He said, pulling both children closer. "You can leave as many things here as you want, and you can come home whenever you want to. And you can still marry Amira and be her XO when you grow up if you both want to. None of that will change because you go spend time with other Turians. And you love uncle Garrus, don't you?"

"We blow things up." Adrien answered, sharp little eyes peeking out from under Shepard's sheltering arm. "I like blowing things up."

"Of course you do." Shepard grinned. "Just remember, you're never alone. None of you are."

~~

It had been coincidence that Garrus and Cortez had met at the spaceport on the way to the farm, as a late-autumn dawn spread over the land.

"I didn't think you were going to be home for another month?" Garrus asked, scratching his scars as they strolled up the long driveway.

"Things were better than expected, so relief efforts got wrapped up sooner. Kaidan will be home tomorrow." Steve stretched at the rising sun. "We're going to try and get everyone together for the holidays. You're coming right?"

"Of course. If only because I want to see Liara's little girl. I hear she has Javik's complete lack of a verbal filter." Garrus laughed.

Standing on the broad porch, Cortez frowned. "Uusally Shepard's up by now." he said, unlocking the door. There was the patter of tiny feet, and Amira sleepily opened it.

"Papi, shhhhh." She said as Steve gathered her in his arms. She curled up against him and waved at Garrus. "Shep was up late with Adrien." She yawned hugely.

Human and Turian exchanged looks then peered into the living room. Shepard's head was back and he was snoring softly, a thin dribble of drool on his chin. The fledgling was sprawled on his chest, drooling too.

"Oh, this is going in the photo albums." Garrus couldn't control his glee. "The greatest picture of Admiral Shepard in history."

And Cortez couldn't agree more.


End file.
